Rachel Sennott joins the video call and right away launches into an apology. “Apologies for the delay!” she says, seeming truly regretful. Although she's only a bit behind, she feels compelled to justify. “My phone conversations always run long.” “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, in this context, this is exactly what you want to encounter. Moreover, it’s pretty predictable. Those who know the fearlessly LGBTQ+ and outspoken project titled Bottoms—that Sennott penned with her creative partner and starred in alongside her friend the talented actress—would already know that Sennott holds a lot to say, be it about roles, relationships, or the pros of creating a high-school combat group. And, by the end her recent multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds even more thoughts regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (At 30, Sennott is a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras adept for straddling millennials and Gen Z).
Influences and Creative Vision
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s Girls naturally arise and the actress is enthusiastic, referencing the show alongside the classic series, Insecure and Atlanta as influences for her series, which follows the travails of a social media star Tallulah and close companion who is also aspiring agent portrayed by Sennott. Perhaps, the largest presence on the moodboard was reserved for the HBO series, that program about an emerging celebrity making his way in an often-seedy LA scene (notable statement: “only the unsuccessful find joy here”). Sennott began viewing it during COVID-19, became “hooked”, and chose to add a fresh perspective on it “for the girls and the gays”.
“My aim was to focus on digital fame over traditional entertainment, as my own beginnings were on the web,” she notes. The idea for the series came—partly—from firsthand, at first fractious, move to Los Angeles and from her cosmic event, a frequently discussed phenomenon for astrology heads. That period marked a phase that included her grasp major life lessons, work-wise and in private life. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” “The struggles felt almost mythic in scale…”
Humble Origins
Growing up in the East Coast, Sennott began creating and acting stand-up while pursuing theatre at NYU’s Tisch. “I followed traditional paths to get on stage, but nothing clicked,” she says. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “None of the university plays cast me either.” And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, taking the stage at amateur nights with her friend and posting hilarious (and very) bizarre online content online. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically fixated on pregnancy; another imagined working at a trendy retail outlet as similar to being stuck in a thriller. Interestingly, she encountered Seligman through the university’s film scene and ended up appearing in her directorial debut, titled Shiva Baby, an anxious dramedy set at a Jewish wake with shades of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she notes, has been people her own age giving her a shot, rather than established gatekeepers. Does that mean bypassing the usual powers? “Definitely not them”, she confirms, stating amusedly: “Our victory isn’t their goal.”
Manifesting Dreams
Those who had doubts regarding Sennott then will certainly be kicking themselves now. In what she labels a “wild, full-circle” story, she seems to have created her dream vehicle. Previously she shared content named on LA life on social media, in which she mocked movie previews (“Substance abuse is rampant here”). Years later, she’s the co-showrunner (with her partner) of a show about LA residents managing benefits of digital stardom (such as partying at a famous actor’s house) with downsides (your client being suspected of being a drug-addled thief, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” persona non grata). One might tempting to create a program about internet celebrity that was overly aspirational—or, more problematic, one that belittled at those depicted. This show avoids both, resulting in a portrait of affluent millennial living that’s frank about the chaos and the appeal.
Empathetic Approach
“There have been a lot of shows that depict young people and their relationship to the internet in this very condescending, hateful way,” she comments. “I think that young people have been through a lot – I’m mostly thinking of people younger than me, like my little sister, who went to college during Covid, so she had to come home, or my other sister who was doing school online.”|“The younger generation has faced significant
